Arrangement in receptacles for receiving materials,particularly refuse

ABSTRACT

A refuse receptacle that compacts the refuse deposited therein and places the compacted refuse in a bag or like container. The receptacle comprises a tubular element, a cover pivoted thereto and having a compressing mechanism including a pressure plate to be moved down into the tubular element, and a bottom plate from which the tubular element can be detached and moved axially. When the bottom plate is non-displaceably connected to the tubular element the refuse is compacted, and when the bottom plate is loosened from the tubular element the refuse is pushed out of the tubular element down into the bag which is loosely passed onto the tubular element and has its bottom supported on the bottom plate.

[ 1 May 22,1973

[54] ARRANGEMENT IN RECEPTACLES FOR RECEIVING MATERIALS, PARTICULARLY REFUSE [76] Inventor: Olof Robert Wilhelm Akerberg,

Storgatan 77, Vetlanda, Sweden 22 Filed: Dec. 21, 1970 21 Appl. N0.Z 99,959

2,465,839 3/1949 Bloomfield ..100/229 A 2,544,222 3/1951 Damico ..100/251 X 3,000,296 9/1961 Poland ..100/251 3,528,366 9/ 1970 Neuenburg ..100/229 A Primary Examiner-Billy J. Wilhite Att0rney-John Lezdey [57] ABSTRACT A refuse receptacle that compacts the refuse deposited therein and places the compacted refuse in a bag or like container. The receptacle comprises a tubular element, a cover pivoted thereto and having a compressing mechanism including a pressure plate to be moved down into the tubular element, and a bottom plate from which the tubular element can be detached and moved axially. When the bottom plate is non-displaceably connected to the tubular element the refuse is compacted, and when the bottom plate is loosened from the tubular element the refuse is pushed out of the tubular element down into the bag which is loosely passed onto the tubular element and has its bottom supported on the bottom plate.

2 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures PATENTED 14751321975 3, 734,008

SHEET 3 OF 5 TZI r I PATENIEU HAY 2 2 I975 sum 5 m 5 ARRANGEMENT IN RECEPTACLES FOR RECEIVING MATES, PTICULARLY REFUSE A serious problem encountered in the field of refuse collection and handling is the ever increasing amount of refuse which primarily results from the trend of using unit packages of various kinds and wrapping, now obligatory, of practically all fresh food products. To hospitals, restaurants and the owners of dwelling houses the problem makes itself felt in that ever increasing room is required to accommodate the refuse, or, if this is not possible, the refuse collecting room has to be emptied at ever shorter intervals, which implies increased cost. It has been established that the increase primarily is an increase of volume, and this is why demands have been put forward for some kind of simple apparatus in which the refuse can be compressed.

It is previously known a. to compress refuse by means of a pressure plate which is slidable in a container, and

b. to collect refuse in resilient containers after compression.

It is not particularly difficult to provide a simply apparatus to carry out either the step mentioned in item (a) or that mentioned in item (b). On the other hand, a combination of these steps gives rise to problems which clearly appears from the hitherto suggested solutions which because of their complexity and their bulkiness are extremely unsuitable for use in for instance detached houses.

The present invention has for its object to provide a simpler waste compressing apparatus than those previously known. This object is realized in that a receptacle for receiving material, particularly waste, comprising a tubular element, a bottom plate detachably connected to one end of the tubular element, and a cover connected to the other end of the tubular element and arranged to swing between a position closing said other end and a position in which said other end is uncovered, has an assembly mounted in its cover and consisting of a pressure plate and means for reciprocating the plate in the tubular element in order alternatively to compress the material in the tubular element against the bottom plate or to move the material from the tubular element down into a collecting container loosely placed about the lower end of the tubular element by detachment of the bottom plate from said tubular element so that the material is pressed down into the collecting container under relative movement between said tubular element and the bottom plate with the bottom of the collecting container bearing against said bottom plate.

In a particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention, the tubular element is secured to one portion of at least one telescoping rod so as to be guided during its movement relative to the bottom plate, while the other portion of the telescoping rod is fixedly connected to the bottom plate.

The apparatus outlined above thus effects compression of the refuse by means of a mechanism which is located in the cover and does not prevent the normal use of the cover as such, and emptying of the receptacle is performed by relative movement between the receptacle and the bottom which supports the collecting container loosely placed about the receptacle. According to the invention, the compression and emptying problem is solved in a very elegant manner which also makes it possible to manufacture the apparatus at a lower price compared to those previously known.

The invention will be described more in detail hereinbelow, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate an embodiment of the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. I is a side view of the apparatus of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a view of the apparatus of this invention wherein waste is being collected in a bag;

FIG. 3 shows a view of the cylinder of the apparatus of this invention in a position after waste has been completely collected in a bag;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the apparatus of this invention wherein the upper end of the waste collecting bag is secured, and

FIG. 5 is a view of the apparatus of this invention in position for a new bag.

FIG. 6 illustrates the latch means locking the cylinder in the upper position;

FIG. 7 illustrates the latch means with the cylinder in the lower position, and

FIG. 8 is an elevation and partly sectional view of the upper portion of the receptacle of this invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the apparatus is a sheet metal cylinder 10 which is open at the upper and lower ends. The cylinder 10 has two diametrically opposed longitudinal tubes ll, 12 of rectangular cross-section which are fixedly connected to the cylinder 10 by connecting means 13. The tubes 11, 12 project a short distance beyond the upper end of the cylinder 10 and terminate short of the lower end of the cylinder 10, as will appear from FIG. 4. The cylinder 10 has a cover 14 which is rotatably mounted on the tube 11 by means of a hinge 15. At the side opposed to the hinge the cover 14 has a locking mechanism 16 which engages the tube 12. The cover 14 can thus be swung in parallel with the plane of the upper cylinder end between a position covering said end and a position in which said end is entirely uncovered. At the lower end, the cylinder 10 is closed by means of a bottom plate 17 preferably a planar plate having an annular edge. The bottom plate 17 has two rods or tubes 18, 19 of rectangular crosssection, which are placed in the same way as the tubes 11, 12 and have outer dimensions permitting their insertion into the tubes 11, 12. It will be realized that the cylinder 10 with the associated cover 14 and tubes 11, 12 can be mounted on the bottom plate 17 with the tubes telescoped over the rods 18, 19, and that the cylinder 10 can thus be raised from the bottom plate while being guided by the tubes ll, 12 and the rods l8, 19. Besides the cylinder 10 can be locked in the lower position with the lower cylinder end bearing against the bottom plate, for the reasons indicated in the following. For more easy carrying, the cylinder 10 has handles 20 secured to it. A bag 21 can be placed about the lower end of the cylinder and be secured thereto in a folded state (see FIG. l) by means of a tension band 22 which is shown in FIG. d, the bottom of the folded bag being supported on the bottom plate 17.

A pressure plate 23 is mounted in the cover 14 and reciprocable in the cylinder 10 with the aid of the mechanism schematically illustrated at 24. The reciprocating device as such can be any conventional apparatus for providing a reciprocating movement, and is no part of the present invention, for which reason it has been illustrated only in the manner shown in the Figures.

The arrangement described is utilized as follows: The empty cylinder 10 is placed in a position in which it is spaced some distance apart from the bottom plate 17, say in the position illustrated in FIG. 5 in which it can be retained by any suitable latch means in the same way as it is retained in its lower position shown in FIG. 1. In the position shown in FIG. 5 a plastic bag is passed onto the downwardly facing open end of the cylinder and secured at its upper end by means of the tension band 22. The cylinder 10 is then moved to the position shown in FIG. 1 and the cover 14 is swung away from the upwardly facing end. The cylinder 10 is now ready to receive waste. When a predetermined amount of waste has been collected in the cylinder 10 the cover 14 is swung back to and locked in the position shown in FIG. 1 by means of the locking mechanism 16. The reciprocating mechanism is now activated and the pressure plate 23 is moved downwardly in the cylinder for compressing the waste therein. After retraction of the pressure plate 23 to its initial position in the cover the locking mechanism 16 is released and the cover is then swung away from the upper end of the cylinder so that new waste can be collected therein. The cylinder 10 is constantly locked in its lower position with the lower cylinder end and the bag bottom on the inner side thereof supported against the bottom plate 17. After a predetermined amount of waste has been collected in the cylinder 10 and compressed therein the latch means between the cylinder 10 and the bottom plate 17 is released simultaneously as the pressure plate is moved downwardly against the waste in the cylinder, and upward movement of the cylinder 10 is started when the pressure plate 23 strikes against the waste. This will force the waste out of the cylinder into the bag 21 which at the upward movement of the cylinder is pulled off the lower cylinder end on which it was mounted in a folded state. This is illustrated in FIG. 2. FIG. 3 shows the cylinder in the upper position in which the waste has been completely collected in the bag, the cylinder thus being emptied altogether. After that the tension band 22 is loosened and the upper end of the bag is closed in the manner shown in FIG. 4. A new bag can now be placed on the cylinder 10 (FIG. 5) and the procedure repeated.

In FIGS. 6 and 7 there is illustrated one means for locking the tubes 11, 12 in the upper and lower positions on the rods l8, 19. Use is thus made of a semicircular locking shaft which is disposed in a conforming recess in the tube 18, 19 and which can be engaged, by twisting, in a recess in the rod at the upper and lower end thereof. The upper recess has a lower abutment forming a substantially right angle with the peripheral surface of the rod, while the lower recess has an upper abutment forming a substantially right angle with the peripheral surface of the rod. Twisting of the locking shaft into locking condition and release condition, respectively, in the upper and lower positions can be effected automatically or manually.

FIG. 8 shows the upper portion 24 of the receptacle containing the piston and cylinder arrangement. The broken line portion illustrates the piston after movement to the lower position.

The steps effected in compressing the waste and placing it in the bag 21, that is, for instance, swinging the cover 14, latching it, initiating the reciprocating mechanism 24, can be realized either manually or automatically with the aid of suitable means and control devices of any suitable conventional type.

It will be understood from the foregoing that modifications are possible and that the invention should not therefore be considered restricted to the embodiment described above and shown in the accompanying drawings.

I claim:

1. In a receptacle for receiving refuse material, a tubular element, a bottom plate detachably connected to the lower end of said tubular element, a cover pivotally connected to the upper end of said tubular element so that it can be brought into a position in which said upper end of the tubular element is uncovered for receiving refuse, and a position in which said upper end of the tubular element is closed, an assembly in said cover comprising a pressure plate and means for reciprocating said plate in said tubular element, a collecting container fastened onto the lower end of said tubular element and having a bottom portion supported on the lower end of said tubular element, said pressure plate being arranged so as to alternatively compress refuse material in said tubular element against said bottom plate when the latter is connected with said tubular element and to move the refuse material out of said tubular element down into said collecting container when said bottom plate is loosened from the tubular element, and means for guiding the tubular element at right angles to the bottom plate upon relative movement between said tubular element and said bottom plate.

2. A receptacle as claimed in claim 1, in which said means for guiding the tubular element in relation to the bottom plate consists of at least one telescoping rod having one part secured to the bottom plate and the other part of said telescoping rod fixed to said tubular element. 

1. In a receptacle for receiving refuse material, a tubular element, a bottom plate detachabLy connected to the lower end of said tubular element, a cover pivotally connected to the upper end of said tubular element so that it can be brought into a position in which said upper end of the tubular element is uncovered for receiving refuse, and a position in which said upper end of the tubular element is closed, an assembly in said cover comprising a pressure plate and means for reciprocating said plate in said tubular element, a collecting container fastened onto the lower end of said tubular element and having a bottom portion supported on the lower end of said tubular element, said pressure plate being arranged so as to alternatively compress refuse material in said tubular element against said bottom plate when the latter is connected with said tubular element and to move the refuse material out of said tubular element down into said collecting container when said bottom plate is loosened from the tubular element, and means for guiding the tubular element at right angles to the bottom plate upon relative movement between said tubular element and said bottom plate.
 2. A receptacle as claimed in claim 1, in which said means for guiding the tubular element in relation to the bottom plate consists of at least one telescoping rod having one part secured to the bottom plate and the other part of said telescoping rod fixed to said tubular element. 